Citigroup committed to African expansion
Citigroup announced on Tuesday it was still committed to Africa and would go forward with its expansion into Africa.
SURE KAMHUNGA
Published: 2010/12/08 07:44:08 AM


CITIGROUP, the global bank rescued from collapse in 2008 by the US government, will continue to expand in Africa and is unfazed by rivals — including South African banks — who are trawling the continent for opportunities.

CEO Vikram Pandit said in Sandton on Tuesday that Citi’s arsenal to deal with competition included its long heritage of doing business in Africa.

It would also continue to use its competitive strength, particularly in investment and corporate banking, as well as personal international banking, to protect and grow its business in Africa.

Africa has become a magnet for international banks which are diversifying their revenue and market risk to focus on emerging countries after losing money in developed economies which were hardest hit by the recession.

SA’s four biggest banks plan to enter markets such as Angola, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.

But Mr Pandit, on his first visit to SA where Citi is celebrating 15 years of doing business, said expansion in Africa was not a walk in the park. He said such a venture was "not an easy thing" and was not a mere case of "dropping one or two bankers".

But Citi would not watch on the sidelines while competitors chipped away at its market share, Mr Pandit said. "Competition is welcome," he said, and Citi would compete "because we have the best people on the ground , we will continue to innovate our products based on the advantage of being in 109 countries".

The group’s strategy of building its footprint in emerging markets will not change because it formed one of the core elements of Citi’s revival.

Citi escaped the fate of Lehman Brothers, which collapsed in September 2008 when the US government injected 45bn to rescue the bank after its stock sank below 5 and some depositors began withdrawing their money. With Bloomberg
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Citigroup’s Pandit makes African visit
By Agency Reporter
Wednesday, 8 Dec 2010

The Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup Incorporated, Mr. Vikram Pandit, visits South Africa and Nigeria this week, as international banks look for African deals to compensate for slower growth in developed economies.

Pandit’s trip to the continent’s biggest economies, his first business visit to Africa, will include meetings with government and business leaders. Joanne Smith, a Johannesburg-based spokeswoman for the lender, said in an e-mailed response to questions on Monday. It follows a similar trip by JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon toward the end of November.

“Africa sticks out as the frontier market and the next area for growth,” Patrick Mathidi, an investment adviser at Johannesburg-based RMB Asset Management, said. Visits by heads of some of the world’s biggest banks have been spurred on by the global financial crisis which left lenders searching for yield and growth in the emerging world, he said.

Citigroup, which has 200 million customer accounts, and JPMorgan, both based in New York, have announced their intentions to grow in Africa.
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